Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

New Beginning

Father,

As we face a new year, a year full of new joys and new sorrows, new heartaches and new victories, may we face it with You. May we, Your people, trust You to bring us through the valleys and up the mountains. May we measure the opportunities we enjoy and the temptations we face in the light of Your truth. And may we journey on, celebrating the fact of Your presence. Until our journey's end.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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Year End Prayer

Father, thank you for your blessings to us this past year. Thank you for the grace shown to us and for your faithfulness. Some of us have traveled a hard road this year. We thank you for the things we have learned. As we look back, show us how you were with us through the year. Amen

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A HEALING WORD


Proverbs 15:4 "The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

Gracious Lord, make me Your messenger of hope and healing. Fill my mouth with words of life.  Give me "an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary."  Open my ears to listen to those who mourn, to those who are in distress, to those who need hope.  Gentle Savior, may the Comforter bring comfort through me to the brokenhearted.  This is my desire.  I love You.  Amen.

Image from googleimages.com
Prayer in part from Maranatha Worship Bible


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Worthy of Worship



Matthew 2:11 (NLT)
     11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Father the significance of the gifts of the Magi is not measured by their wealth but by their humility. As great a value as the gifts were, they pale in comparison to the reverence and awe in which they were given. The Wise Men followed the principle of true giving, first: “…. they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts."

Thank you Father for the example of these wise men who traveled so far in seeking Him alone who is worthy of worship.


Amen

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Without ceasing

May we keep our hearts turned to Him in a continual attitude of prayer. May our spirits be ever connected to His as we commune with Him every minute of every day. Truly He is our breath and we need that breath surging within us at all times.

What a mighty and powerful God we serve!


Amen

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Peace

Father,

I pray for peace during this season of peace. I pray for those who feel rushed, frustrated or hassled because of the demands the season puts on them. I pray for those who may be dealing with difficult family relations or grief over those who are no longer there. And I pray particularly for Your people, that we might see past the hustle and the bustle and celebrate the birth of your Son.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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Fourth Week of Advent: Preparation

Jesus, as the Father prepared the world for your first advent, so prepare us for your return. Help us to not only long for you to come back, but to actively build for your Kingdom each day. Prepare our hearts to follow you while we anticipate the restoration of all things. Amen

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The Power of His Presence




Matthew 1:23 (NLT)
    
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

Thank you Father for the gifts of Christmas which include hope, joy, peace, love, mercy, grace forgiveness and so much more. But, especially thank you for the gift of yourself in the person of you Son. Your presence with us is our greatest treasure because there is nothing in all creation that can compare to the intimate relationship and fellowship with have with you.   

Therefore Father we take heart with the words Moses spoke to Israel: “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deut. 31:6 (NLT)


Father for the priceless gift of your abiding presence and love we will be eternally grateful and say with the Apostle Paul: “.. I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)

Amen

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God Became One of Us

Father,

I thank You that though we are sinners and deserve nothing, You sent Your Son to pay the price for our sins. Help us never to lose the wonder of this. Help us never to forget how incredible it is that God would become a man and that He would become a man to save us. Help us to live the whole year in light of that truth.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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THE WATCHTOWER OF PRAYER

Isaiah 21:8  " Day after day, my Lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post."
Dear Lord, in my spirit, I will post myself on the watchtower of prayer and listen for Your signals.  I want to be alert to Your Word and Your actions.  Speak to me and give me clear direction, I pray.  I want to stay when You say stay, move when You say move and never, never fall asleep at my post."

Oh Lord, with our country in turmoil and fear, prayer is the key.  As Christians we need to be on the watchtower of prayer every day.  Lifting up our country, our leaders, our pastor, our teachers.  All the parents who influence family.  Lord help us to be faithful as the salt and light of the earth.

Help all of us who are called by Your NAME to be bold in our living and faithful to our post.   I love You.  Amen.

watchtower image from googleimages.com

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Mercy Christmas




Father, one of the words that reveal the necessity of Christmas is mercy. Within the meaning of this wonderful word is the revelation you gave of yourself to Moses: “The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin…..” Exodus 34:6-7 (NLT)


Father the Apostle Paul shared this glorious truth with his friend Titus: “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy…..”. Titus 3:4-5 (NLT)
 

Father we rejoice in the reality of your mercy and join the Psalmist in saying: “The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love…. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” Psalm 103:8 & 10 (NLT)
 

Father as we investigate the necessity of Christmas we come to a clear and compelling understanding that without mercy there can be no Christmas and without Christmas there can be no forgiveness. Thank you Father for the joys of Christmas experienced in the gift of your mercy.
 

Yes, thank you Father, that in your grace you gave us want we don’t deserve and in your mercy you don’t give us what we do deserve. Indeed we can proclaim Merry Christmas because it was a Mercy Christmas.
 

Amen

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A Peacemaker Prayer

We ask you Father to help us to be, and to become, peacemakers. We pray first for ourselves, that we would find and experience a deep peace within. That we might experience that aspect of the fruit of your Spirit in such a way that it would spill out to each person our lives touch. May your peace spread through us to our neighbors, our cities, our states and our nations.

In this season of Advent, may the reality of the Prince of Peace be present in a new way. May the Babe of Bethlehem spread his peace throughout the world. And as this year closes and a new one appears, we pray that Spirit led peacemakers would arise in the world. That those who only know war would begin to learn and experience peace.

In the name of the One who brings peace.

Amen

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HOPE and JOY

Father God, may we never forget to have HOPE in this world in a time when things seem hopeless. May we never neglect to choose JOY in our daily lives when it seems like we can't find it no matter how hard we search. And may we always remember to keep CHRIST in our celebration of Christmas and be ever mindful of the significance of His birth every day of our lives. 

What a wonderful Savior we serve. What a mighty and powerful God He is! He is King of kings and Lord of lords and worthy of all our praise! 

Thank you, LORD for being so good. Thank you for loving us and redeeming us and being our HOPE, our JOY and our SALVATION.

"And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS."
(Revelation 19:16)

Amen

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Christmas Spirit

Father,

I pray for your people, that they would see beyond the busyness of the season to worship You and remember the birth of Your Son. I pray that we may also avoid bickering over details of how the secular world acknowledges Christmas. May we invite others to come to You with a heart of love rather than one of anger. And may we remember Your Son in all the activities we engage in.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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Advent: Hope

Father, thank you for the hope we have in you. Thank you that no matter how dark life may be, we have hope because of Christ. Even if we give up, you never give up on us. We have hope because we are children of the Creator of all things. Thank you. Amen

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CHRISTMAS FAMILY TREE



Matthew 1:1  "The record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ son of David, the son of Abraham."

We find name after name after name.  Many people reading this would skip over as boring, but nothing could be less true.

Dear Lord Jesus, what a wonder it is that You entered the human race as You did.  You chose to incarnate Yourself through a genealogy of mixed tribes and races, bluebloods and bullies, heroes and harlots, saints and sinners.  Thank You for representing each person on earth, for identifying with every one of us.  Thank You Lord, for reaching out to me, here and now, right where I am.  I love You.  Amen.

Amen

image from googleimages. com

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Prince of Peace




Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
    “ 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end……..”


Father the peace Jesus brings is personal because it calms our troubled hearts. It is practical because it is available to all who believe in him. And it is permanent because nothing in time and eternity will ever nor can ever destroy it. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi: It is “God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand…..” Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

Thank you Father for this wonderful gift of peace and I pray, especially in this Christmas season, for the blessing of this peace on your people as Paul prayed in 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NLT)

….may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation……”

In the name of him alone who is our Savior and Peace, Jesus.


Amen

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Praying Psalm 91 | under your wings we find refuge

Lord we are thankful that we are living in your shelter and we are protected in the shadow of your power.

We confess that you are our refuge and fortress when we are afraid. Our God in whom we trust.

You are a mighty deliverer capable of snatching our souls from the traps of the enemy and the flesh. You are able to defeat everything that comes against us.

Our trust is in you Lord!

You Lord have covered us and under your wings we find refuge. Your faithfulness is a shield and buckler to those who take refuge in you.

Because of you Lord we will not fear the terrors of the night. Nor the arrows that fly by day. Nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness. Nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Calamity may come to a thousand; ten thousand may be pursued by evil; but it will not come near us because you are with us.

Our trust is in you Lord!

We have made you our dwelling place Lord. Your presence is precious to us. You are our refuge. Your promise is that no evil shall be allowed to befall us; no plague come near our house.

We rejoice that you have commanded your angels concerning us to guard us in all our ways. On their hands they will bear us up lest we injure our bodies.

We are thankful that you are our protection from all manner of danger. You will shield us from all harm. You will watch over us.

Our trust is in you Lord!

We run to you and hold fast to you in love. We look to you for deliverance and confess the name of Jesus as we pray.

Thank you Lord that you hear us when we pray. Out of your goodness you respond to us and are always there.

We bless your name because you have promised to be with us in trouble, to rescue us, to honor us, to satisfy us and to save us.

Our trust is in you Lord!

Amen
First published here on December 14, 2009

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Giving Thanks

Though Thanksgiving  is past, I would like to pause to give thanks. As I have said before, this has been a hard summer for me. But it is at these times we most need to give thanks.

Father:

I thank You for bringing us through my wife's bout with cancer. I thank You that she is almost through chemo-therapy and it has gone relatively well. I pray that the cancer may not come back. I thank You for bringing us through the more minor problem of my gall bladder removal and pray that the problem may be finished with. I thank You for bringing us through the closing down of the church congregation we were part of and that You have led us to another congregation to be part of. I thank You that we can come to You and pray to you even in the darkest times, and You can bring us through.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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